Stargate: Return of the Ancients, Season 2, Ep 4
by Aer-ki Jyr
Summary: Episode, "Tel'nour Le'ma" Year: 2013
1. Chapter 1

"Your report, Commander?" the High Kleeson asked.

Neela nodded her head with respect to the 7-member council. "We have ascertained the identity of the ship that came to the defense of Earth…they call themselves the Alterra."

The seven Kleesons exchanged glances.

"However, we do have some knowledge of them, we just didn't realize it," Neela continued. "They are the builders of the stargates."

Eyes on the Aschen leadership council widened. "Are you sure?" one of the junior members asked.

Neela nodded ominously. "However, they are not as powerful now as they once were. According to information recently acquired from an alien captured trying to infiltrate Remasse, these Alterra were wiped out long ago by some disease and only recently have been reborn through a feat of technology and biology. It seems we are also Alterra, degenerated to primitive status in some way to avoid the disease that killed them. When combined with some sort of transformative database, a Human becomes Alterra with all their knowledge and skills."

"Surely you jest?" another Kleeson argued. "Our origins are Tremarste. Archeology has confirmed it."

"I do not dispute our previous findings," Neela said cautiously, "however they may be incomplete. Perhaps our ancestors were placed on our homeworld by the original Alterra."

"Repeat what you said about this database?" the High Kleeson instructed.

"It seems they left a number of devices throughout the galaxy for Humans to find and use, once they physically advanced far enough to become compatible with the technology. The Tok'ra told me that most Humans are still incompatible and would die from its attempted use. All it took was one success and the Alterra were reborn."

The High Kleeson nodded. "Continue, Commander."

"We believe these new Alterra are few in number, but their technology, needless to say, is far beyond ours. If you dispute that premise, you need only study the intricacies of the stargates. However, to supplement their numbers they have allied themselves with the Jaffa and are supplying them with some of their technology."

"Some?" another Kleeson asked.

"Based off of scans of the ship that defended Earth and the Jaffa vessels we've encountered, there appears to be a significant technological diminishment from one to the other. Though similar, it would seem that these Alterra aren't giving the Jaffa the best that they have available."

One of the silent Kleesons leaned forward with keen interest. "Presumably in order to assure they don't turn the technology back against them, if they are as small in number as you suggest."

"We believe so," Neela confirmed. "Also, it seems these Alterra are not present within this galaxy…at least not yet."

"Explain that, Commander," the High Kleeson demanded.

"According to the Tok'ra, their queen was altered in an Alterran city in another galaxy. We believe the Jaffa are their source of power here, for the time being."

"What of the ship you encountered?"

"It has not been seen since," Neela offered, none too happy with the partial answer. "We believe it is not based here…or else the Alterra have a world unknown to the rest of the galaxy…or at least the portion of it we've met."

"That is a very large assumption, Commander," the High Kleeson warned.

Neela bowed her head. "Forgive me, I realize as much. My team and I believe that we have a narrow window of opportunity for success and not enough time to thoroughly investigate the matter."

"How so?" the Aschen leader inquired.

"We cannot match these Alterra technologically, but their limited numbers do offer us an opportunity. Though inferior, our technology is effective. Battle data supports this. Given sufficient numbers of elementals we can overpower their ships…"

"But give them enough time," another Kleeson interrupted, "and the odds of us gaining numerical superiority over their fleet drops precipitously."

Neela nodded.

The Kleesons conferred amongst themselves, off mic. Neela waited before them for several minutes before they returned their attention to her.

"What is your analysis team's suggestion?"

Neela steadied herself. "We believe the only way we can achieve the numerical superiority necessary to overcome the Alterra and their allies is to abandon current protocol and forcefully seize any and all assets within this galaxy necessary for the production of elementals. Concurrently, we expand reconnaissance efforts tenfold in order to locate Alterran installations, or those of their allies, within this galaxy. We must find them and strike quickly, before they grow into an enemy we cannot contain."

"Subsequently," Neela continued, "we need to plan for failure and begin heavy reinforcement of Tremarste and the establishment of battle stations in orbit over our primary worlds in preparation for an Alterran counterattack. We also must push the limits of our technology towards battle hardware and weapons development. Any minor upgrade in the elementals will result in a cumulative net advantage when fielded in large numbers, as we believe they must be."

"We also have prepared a full report on secondary projects to coincide with this new offensive. We must be multi-dimensional in our approach and prepare for all type of eventualities," Neela said, walking up and handing a small data chip to the High Kleeson.

"Do you know what you're suggesting?" he asked her as if she were a little child.

"We do," she answered humbly.

"This is not the way of the Aschen," he reminded her. "Are you sure we have no other options?"

"Establishing diplomatic relations will be difficult, given that we've already opposed the Alterra in battle, but it is not without possibility. However, any such attempt would give the Alterra and their allies the necessary time to grow beyond our reach. Unfortunately, time is not on our side."

"Leave us," the High Kleeson said with finality.

Neela bowed and walked backwards for a few steps, then turned and exited the council chamber. Jarro and Ilsa were waiting for her outside.

"How did it go?" Jarro asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, walking with them.

"Did they reject the premise?" Ilsa asked.

"No."

"Did they argue the lack of time?" Jarro inquired.

"No."

Both of Neela's assistants exchanged glances.

"Typical procedure," Neela added, "is to study the matter in private for a minimum of two weeks. We will simply have to wait for their course of action and then do what we can to further it."

"Meanwhile the enemy grows stronger," Jarro added.

"That cannot be helped," Neela said as they exited the building and walked over to a transport pad. All three of them stood close together and transported up to their research station in orbit.

"What do you wish us to do in the interim?" Ilsa asked.

"Continue consolidating intelligence reports," Neela told her, "and once you're satisfied that we've received all pertinent data from the Tok'ra, have her terminated."

Ilsa nodded and walked off in another direction.

"I don't like this," Jarro whispered so only Neela could hear.

"Neither do I," she answered honestly. "But what choice do we have?"

"Wait, watch, and learn," Jarro repeated the old Aschen mantra.

"At which point our fate will rest entirely in our enemy's hands."

"There are too many," Jarro argued. "The Asgard have reappeared, and given the Kleeson's reluctance to relinquish Einherja we have already soiled any potential relations there. We cannot risk making new enemies that have technology superior to our own."

"There comes a time," Neela said, "when all great peoples must stand up and assert themselves over the lessers. Until now, we have held the advantage when we did so. Now, it seems, our mettle will be tested in doing so."

Jarro grabbed Neela by the arm, gently, but it was still a wildly rash action for an Aschen. "But if what the Tok'ra said is true, and these Alterra are an advanced form of Aschen, we might be the lessers in this situation."

"I suggest you keep that kind of talk to yourself," Neela warned, lightly extricating herself from his grip. "These Alterra were wiped out by a disease. How superior could they truly be? Technology alone does not indicate superiority. Our intelligence and patience will see us through."

"Even if we're forced into haste?" Jarro argued.

"While some act, others will watch and study," Neela reminded him. "They will have all the time they need to insure we are on the correct path, and if need be, to instruct us how to adjust it. Now, if you have no more objections, see to the next shipment."

"Very well," Jarros relented and walked away.

Neela let him go a few meters then headed out to the observation platform. She was alone on the large deck with a panoramic view of Tremarste. There was still a large visible chunk of the planet missing where the material had been sucked through the active stargate into a black hole, but that depression was slowly diminishing as new rock was continuously being shipped in from offworld and deposited within the wound. After enough time the pressure would build and the planet's internal heat would liquefy the material, at which time the smooth lines of the Aschen homeworld would return and they could go about fixing the missing portion of crust. As it was now, their reconstruction project was 28% complete.

At least the orbit and rotation had been stabilized enough to return to the surface. Violent temperature swings and unbelievably chaotic weather patterns had wrecked the Aschen infrastructure along with a continuous chain of earthquakes. Those had been stabilized with the core adjustment project, followed by a debris collection effort, after which the reconstruction of the primary cities had begun and the first of the planet's evacuated population was able to slowly start returning.

Logistically it would have been easier to settle a new world, but giving up on Tremarste would have been acknowledging the victory of the Earthers. The Aschen would do no such thing, and would denote as many resources and years as it would take to rebuild the planet…literally speaking.

Many of those resources were coming from recently acquired star systems, thus expediting the recovery efforts. The more worlds they laid claim to, the faster Tremarste would heal. Neela thought that appropriate, given what the galaxy had done to them. Her only regret was that they couldn't exact vengeance on Earth and carve up the planet's bedrock to repair theirs. Despite the disappointment, that battle had woken the Aschen up to the dangers within the galaxy.

Up until that point they had assumed technological superiority, or at least co-dominance with other species such as the Asgard, whom they believed held the technological bellwether within the galaxy…but the emergence, or reemergence, of the stargate builders changed all that, and Neela believed that meant the Aschen also had to change, else they be destroyed.

She looked down on the surface of their homeworld as the damaged section rotated out of view as the research/recovery station crossed over into the night side and several large cities became reassuring beacons of civilization beneath her.

She sucked in a slow, deep breath, resettling her nerves and drawing strength from the visible symbol of the Aschen's strength of will. They would find a way to succeed and bring this galaxy under their total control…they must in order to survive.


	2. Chapter 2

One Year Later…

"Jaffa!" Kerret shouted.

As one, the thirteen warriors opened fire on the floating orb with their staff weapons, pummeling it with golden energy. The large glowing sphere absorbed their shots into its blue shields and returned fire with a solid blue beam.

The Jaffa next to Kerret was impaled through the heart, the beam clearly visible as it exited through his lower back and bored a hole into the moist dirt beneath their feet. The white orb rotated slightly, then fired on a second Jaffa, killing him with equally lethal precision before its shields began to buckle. A wave of ripples spread over the sphere before it finally gave way and the remaining staff blasts blew small craters into its surface. It took more than thirty additional shots, but eventually the cursed creation went down.

Kerret carefully walked toward the device, keeping his staff lowered and primed to fire. He looked over the smoldering wreck and touched it with the tip of his weapon. When nothing happened he raised his staff beside him and angrily kicked the dead Aschen anti-personnel drone.

"_Listen!_" another Jaffa insisted. All dropped quiet as a high pitched, oscillating whine began to grow louder…another of the weapons was nearing them.

"_Retreat!_" Kerret yelled as he turned and ran back towards the city of Mullser. "_We must get to the rings!_"

The remaining Jaffa followed him without complaint. Ever since the enemy had emerged through the stargate half an hour before, their defense forces had been on the run as the devices systematically killed all the inhabitants of Renesset that they came across. Women, children, the elderly…no Jaffa was spared.

A warning had been relayed to the neighboring cities, and Kerret and his warriors had heeded the call to arms, only to find death and destruction before them. Out of his original 50 warriors, he was down to eleven counting himself. Any hope of defeating this enemy on the ground was gone…and as of yet they had not received any Death Glider aerial support, which worried him even more.

Renesset was one of several strongholds of the gradually diminishing Jaffa Nation, and as such was protected by a pair of Ha'tak in orbit. They only way they could reach the ships was by using the rings in one of the cities, and right now Degrada was overrun with the alien devices.

Kerret had heard of other worlds falling to an unfamiliar foe just days ago, but he had not counted on an enemy as formidable and cowardly as this. The swine didn't have the nerve to even show their face!

Behind them not one, but two of the orbs appeared as the Jaffa cleared the woods and entered the edge of the city. A guard turret at the entrance rose out of the ground and fired on the nearest of the two. Its larger version of the staff weapon blasted the enemy target with a shot the size of Kerret's head, but the orb's shields held. The turret's gunner continued firing as the orb rotated and took aim…but the Aschen shields collapsed and the orb exploded before it could return fire.

The turret tracked the second orb and Kerret slid to a stop and fired back with his staff blast. If he could distract it long enough…

But no, it connected its long, thin blue line with the turret and punctured both the weapon and gunner, then rotated its small surface grooves towards the fleeing Jaffa.

Kerret didn't wait past the destruction of the tower. He ran sideways and darted behind the nearest building then cut back and headed further into town. The probe followed him and gently rose up over the building and came bobbing back down onto the surface streets taking aim.

The Jaffa scattered amongst the inhabitants of the city as the orb went about its ruthless murder. Kerret brushed past a screaming woman as he ran at full speed towards the central square where the mutilated statue of Chronos stood alongside a hidden ring platform.

"_Hurry!_" he yelled as he saw two other Jaffa ahead of him.

The first one arrived at the fountain and pulled back the head of a bowing woman, revealing the ring's control console. He pressed the button sequence needed to reach orbit, but held off the last one until his fellow Jaffa stepped inside.

Four of them inside the rings, the Jaffa touched the last button and stepped in alongside them…but nothing happened.

"_Try again!_" Kerret demanded.

The Jaffa stepped back out of the perimeter and dialed again, this time trying to reach any ship in orbit, not just the nearest.

Again, no connection.

Kerret knew that meant either the ships had their shields raised and not calibrated to receive ring transport…or there were no ships left in orbit.

Given that they weren't receiving Death Glider support that seemed the most likely possibility.

"Gadarva!" he yelled as the sound of orb weapon's fire and the screams of more Jaffa broke into the square.

The Jaffa input the sequence of buttons to search for a specific set of rings on the surface of the planet…this time successfully.

The circular beams rose up and in a flash the city disappeared, replaced by thick forest and rock walls.

"_Quickly, to the ships_."

A few strides away a small crack in the rocky bluff appeared and the Jaffa disappeared inside. They ran through the narrow passage and emerged into a small, carved out hangar with several craft left unattended.

Kerret ran to one of the four Death Gliders and jumped inside while the other Jaffa did the same, with one heading toward the door controls. Within a minute they were powered up and lifting off from the deck. Kerret was the first one out and into the sky, headed back towards the battle some fifty miles away.

"_Form up_," he relayed to the three Gliders emerging behind him. He kept his speed moderate to allow them to catch him. "_We need coordinated fire to take them down quickly_."

Once they'd caught up, the foursome accelerated to maximum speed and reached the first of the seven cities within two minutes. Berelet looked to have yet to be reached by the small devices, but he noticed several blue flashed in nearby Mullser where they had just been.

Swooping low over the city to give himself cover, Kerret made a strafing run against the orb sitting in the middle of the square mowing down his fellow Jaffa one by one. He saw a few staff blasts in response just before he unleashed his Glider's cannons on the enemy.

He got two shots off before he was flashing past it and beginning his swivel turn. He hoped his fellow pilots had killed the device as he saw a blue beam rise up and puncture the wing of one of the other Gliders. It didn't drop out of the sky, but it did begin to leave a trail of smoke behind.

Kerret dropped back down, approaching the square when he noticed both the source of the attack on the Gliders as well as the slagged remains of the orb in the city square. With that threat neutralized he turned to port and fired on the second orb.

One of his fellow Gliders got to it first, and Kerret had the pleasure of finishing the device off in a satisfying spray of debris as his sensors began flashing with approaching targets from above.

"_Incoming fighters!_" he yelled, knowing damn well that they weren't friendlies. "_Pull them away from the city!_"

He took his own advice and flew out over the forest, then turned and corkscrewed up into the sky. A number of the enemy craft split off to chase him and the others, taking aim on the slower, wounded Glider first.

A single yellowish beam shot forth from the block-like fighter and killed the Glider on impact. Little was left of the craft to fall to ground…the Jaffa piloting the craft had been killed instantly, which only further fueled Kerret's rage.

He took aim and attacked the craft, ignoring how many others there were closing on his position. He fired three times into its shields, but failed to penetrate them.

Another Glider was shot down, then one of the blocks exploded amidst a blue beam from overhead. Two more quickly followed as a large ship descended above them and Kerret's communication system activated.

"This is the Earth vessel _Revere_. All Jaffa craft board immediately. We will evacuate as many people as we can from the surface, but this planet is lost. The enemy has a massive fleet in orbit. Either come with us and live to fight another day, or stay here to die pointlessly."

Kerret cringed at the mild rebuke in the Tau'ri's words, but given the number of contacts growing on his sensors he saw he had little choice. He turned toward the Human warship's open hangar bay as it continued to shoot down the enemy craft. He took note of them briefly lowering the shields over the bay to allow him and the other remaining Death glider to land, along with a pair of cargo ships that had emerged from somewhere within the city.

Kerret was barely inside the ship and landed before he felt the pull of acceleration as the Tau'ri broke for orbit. Their hangar bay doors were still open, and he got a glimpse of the enemy fleet in space above the atmosphere…

Their tiny ships nearly blocked the view of the sun and stars, there were so many of them filling a long band across the sky…then the blackness of space and the white specs of the enemy ships disappeared into the blue of hyperspace. Beside his Death Glider a Human raised an orange ladder up to the cockpit.

Kerret grunted and keyed for exit, lowering both himself and the chair portion of his cockpit out from beneath the ship, bound by a cradle-like apparatus. He stepped out and looked up at the bewildered Human.

"Right," the man said, pulling the ladder back.

"I would speak with your Captain, Human," Kerret said stiffly.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," the tech said hesitantly. "Right now we're supposed to gather you all together and take a head count."

Kerret nodded and said nothing further. He followed the man towards a side door, where another Human escorted him into an interior room where Jaffa from the city were packed together, elbow to elbow. He was told to wait here and did so without complaint as he began searching through the crowd for familiar faces…and found several.

"Irras," he said in greeting, nudging his way through the crowd.

"Kerret," the elder Jaffa offered, bowing slightly. "_I am glad you survived. We have lost so many this day_."

"_Indeed. Do you know who this enemy is that strikes us without showing his face?_"

"_I do not_," Irras admitted, "_but I know we are not alone. Many worlds have fallen. The council was receiving intelligence reports of three more Jaffa worlds under attack just as the Chappa'ai activated._"

"_They coordinated the surface attack to coincide with the arrival of their ships?_"

"_It seems so. They took us completely by surprise_."

"_Our Ha'tak?_"

"_Destroyed within minutes_," he said, shaking his head as another Human entered the room along with two more Jaffa women.

"Listen up!" the man said loudly. "I know this isn't the best time, but we have reports of simultaneous attacks across more than a dozen worlds, including two of our own. Any information you can provide on the enemy would be helpful, especially those Kenobi remotes that came through the stargate. Any of you that feel like talking, there's a man down the hallway that wants to hear every detail of the attack. Even something small may be of value."

"Human!" Kerret responded before any of the others could. He began walking through the crowd back towards the door. "Where are you taking us?"

"Not sure yet, we're just getting some distance between us and the bad guys. We can drop you off on a planet with a stargate later and we can go our separate ways."

"Do you know who this enemy is?" Kerret asked forcefully.

Mitchell nodded. "Yep. I'm afraid I do. They tried to destroy Earth three years ago. They're called the Aschen, and they're one mean bunch of paper pushers."

"Speak plainly, Human! I am in no mood for your antics!"

Mitchell walked up to Kerret and looked the Jaffa in the eye. "What I meant was, they're physically weak, cowardly, reportedly boring…and in possession of some very advanced technology."

Kerret raised his chin. "They do not even have the courage to face us in combat."

"Nope, but they still get the job done…no offense."

"How are you here?"

"We were in the area, picked up your distress call. One of our mining sites was hit two days ago, not far from here. Probably the same fleet."

"You lost your world?" Kerret asked.

"Yeah," Mitchell said sheepishly. "Lost a lot of good people down there."

"As have we," Kerret acknowledged. "I will tell you of the battle if you will take us to Dakara."

"Looking to hook up with Bra'tac?"

"If he truly has access to Ancient technology, his forces may be the only ones capable of opposing these Aasheen."

"Aschen," Mitchell corrected him. "We can arrange something…I assume you want to keep your ships."

"They are of little use to us now," Kerret argued. "Get us to Dakara as soon as possible. If I know Bra'tac he will respond to this attack swiftly. I intend to join in the battle."

"No hesitation," Mitchell commented. "I like that. Go with the Major and tell him everything you can about the attack. I'll send a message to Dakara while I have the Captain find the nearest stargate."

"You are not the Captain?"

"No, I'm the General. General Cam Mitchell, second in command to General Carter," he said, extending his hand.

Kerret looked down at it, and Mitchell finally put it down. "Ok then. On to business," he said, heading back to the bridge.

"All yours," he whispered to the Major as he passed him in the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

Above the orange skies of Deortas as mass of Aschen Elementals spread out in a wide sphere that engulfed three orbital stations, each the size of a small moon, yet stretched out into fat needle-like shapes. The defense stations orbited above the solitary ocean on the planet's surface, home to a vast underwater civilization, and were the first targets of the invasion force numbering in excess of 5,000 elementals.

The defense stations's clear shields rippled from multiple weapon impacts…like the sting of a thousand ants, but no response was evident. After a long minute of ineffective assaults, the elementals linked fire and attacked specific points in the shields to overwhelm a tiny portion of the defensive matrix. Soon small, temporary gaps were created, allowing a portion of the Aschen energy beams to pass through and damage the exterior of the massive stations…yet still there was no return fire.

* * *

"Puzzling," Orotoss said almost disinterestedly. "Our scans indicate the presence of defensive weaponry."

The second in command of the Aschen control ship squinted at the control console's readings. "Minimal only. There would be little point in firing back, given the numbers are heavily in our favor."

Orotoss glanced at Armud. "What kind of a defense station doesn't defend against assault?"

The junior officer shrugged. "Perhaps that is not their true function. Our intelligence reports were less than thorough. There is a great deal about the internal structure that has yet to be ascertained. They could be habitats for all we know."

"And yet they stand in triangular defense position above the surface settlements," Orotoss argued patronizingly.

"We will discover their function, no doubt, when we survey the debris," Armud said with mock finality. His lack of field experience was of continual amusement to Orotoss, thus he let his counterpart entertain certain…delusions about his position within Aschen society.

"Our first priority after we secure the planet," Orotoss reminded him, "is to open the crust to the deep mineral deposits so that the collectors can begin their work with the minimum delay. Our materiel reserves run low, and we must maintain a steady supply of elementals if we are to win this war."

"Of course," Armud deferred as he watched as a large explosion on the surface of one of the defense stations coincided with the fall of its shields.

A small tone caught Orotoss's attention as a new schematic was superimposed over the holographic display of all three stations.

Armud frowned. He didn't recognize the protocol. "What is it?"

"It appears to be the activation of internal components of all three stations simultaneously," the Aschen field commander stated as he calmly studied the sensor readings. "They are powering up."

"I thought they already were powered up," Armud said, curious but not concerned. "What are they powering?"

"I do not know," Orotoss said, more concerned than his counterpart. "The computer can't identify the technology."

Armud grunted softly. Information was vital to the Aschen way of life. Unknown variables were therefore…unseemly.

More weapons fire from the elementals continued to damage the long needle-like stations, but they were so massive it would take hours to fully destroy them.

A halo around each station formed on the holographic display, with the Aschen text translation "Distortion Forming" tagging the anomalies.

* * *

In space, large wispy energy bands became visible around the central bulge in the needle stations and began to grow in size. Soon they leapt out and connected the three stations together with long, thin filaments forming a perfect triangle. One of the elementals flew into the wisps and was pulverized on impact. The battle computer onboard the Aschen command ship instantly recognized the danger and tagged the energy bands as 'no fly' zones for the elemental swarm that was continuing to chew into the command stations, chunk by exploding chunk.

The wisps continued to grow in volume and intensity. Soon the bands connecting the stations glowed a fiery aqua color that was clearly visible from the planet below. Simultaneously, thin defense shields appeared above the roughly circular ocean, ending several miles beyond the shore where they touched down on the desert sands that covered the other 3/4ths of the planet.

* * *

Orotoss's demeanor hadn't visibly changed, but internally he was no longer confident in the battle's outcome. Whatever was happening below them was beyond his, and more importantly, the computer's ability to identify. What he did know was that all three defense shields were down, and his elementals were continuing to damage the structures. This suggested patience, and allowing time to work in their advantage, which was why Orotoss did not order a retreat. Neither he nor the other Aschen had ever encountered this type of technology before…which, to be fair, wasn't saying much, given the Aschen's conservative and withdrawn nature. Their knowledge of the galaxy was limited to a very small, very isolated corner of it up to a handful of years ago…and they were about to get a lesson in galactic warfare that their arrogantly wielded technological advantage had not previously afforded them.

DON'T POKE THE TIGER

A full 27 minutes after the initial attack began, the blinding triangular halo of light connecting the three orbital stations released and expanded outward like an ocean wave. Three such waves extended from the stations, passing around and sparing each other, but destroying on contact anything and everything else that stood in their way. Soon the tri-lobed expanding distortion pushed through the elemental swarms, through the atmosphere, and impacted the surface of the planet, washing over it and the limited number of ground forces the Aschen had landed on the far side of the planet. The wave covered the entire planet within minutes and continued to spread outward.

The planet was completely obscured from view as the distant Aschen command ship jumped back into hyperspace before it too was destroyed. The invasion of the Oannes' homeworld was to be one of the few defeats the Aschen would suffer during their first year of aggressive expansion, which the Jaffa came to call the Tel'nour Le'ma. This, as in all things, the Aschen would learn from…

* * *

The United States' one and only 5-star General looked up as footsteps sounded outside her office. "Please tell me you have some good news?"

"Sorry, Sam," Mitchell said as he slumped down in the plush chair on the other side of her long, rectangular desk. The adjustable chair still held his settings, so he sat down and it absorbed his weight perfectly, keeping him upright as he reached out and touched an icon on the top of her desk.

The touch screen altered into a map of the Tau'ri holdings, expanding in a large ellipse centered on Earth and extending outward from the center of the galaxy. On the coreward side, a number of Jaffa worlds had blocked expansion, limiting the radius of Earth's power in that direction, but the more backwater outer rim star systems had offered less obstructions. Thus most of Earth's controlled territory ebbed outward, leaving a sufficiently thick 'buffer zone' around Earth, but saw most of the fledgling infrastructure placed rimward, including Carter's base of operations far out on the rim, now the most heavily populated Tau'ri colony known affectionately as Springfield…but to most space-faring Earthers it was also referred to as Earth 2 and served as the stronghold that anchored the more distant colonies at the far end of the trade routes branching out amongst Earth's territory…routes that had to be monitored and protected, not only against Aschen raids, but from pirates, rogue Jaffa, and a host of other concerns from a vast and diverse galaxy of threats. Setting up an interstellar empire was not without its challenges.

"The Russians lost PVR-327," Mitchell said, highlighting the small red dot on the map. With a few quick taps the Russian red switched over to Aschen blue.

"Damn it!" Carter said, thumping her fist down on the desktop…where there were no icons to be pressed. "We told them this was coming…"

"Every country for themselves," Mitchell repeated the growing sentiments within Earth politics. Aside from a mutual dedication to protecting the homeworld, the various nations treated their interstellar territories with a completely greedy and almost Goa'uld-like lust for power and possessions. Fortunately, this meant that for every system lost to the Aschen, four more were being colonized to replace them. Thus the race was on for resources in a 'land grab' unseen since Columbus reported back that he'd found a quick route to India.

Mitchell would have laughed at that blunder…had not Earth been keeping the secret of all things extra-terra from the masses. The planet was at war, but that fact was being kept from the planet. How deliciously ironic. So much so it almost made him sick…but such things weren't up to him, and Cam actually preferred being away from Earth. He and Sam were essentially in charge of their own Empire out here, on behalf of the United States, and far away from the bull shit that flowed like the sweat in a college dormitory back home. They didn't have to play games out here…they couldn't afford to, and Vice President Kerry knew it…fortunately.

Carter shook her head. "Any word from the Chinese?"

"Not that I've heard," Mitchell said, adjusting the map. "They're still ignoring us. We don't even know how many worlds they've lost."

"Or acquired," Carter added.

"Or that…"

Sam frowned. "What have you got?"

"Remember that memo you sent a while back on resource collecting?"

"I send a lot of memos these days, Cam…"

"Well, when we were on our last patrol, the _Revere_ picked up some interesting readings on P3X-998. Might be a source of neutronium. Think you need to send a proper survey team.

"Why didn't you pull a survey when you were there?"

"Picked up a Jaffa distress signal…again."

"Any survivors?"

Cam shook his head. "Not this time."

Sam blew out a long breath.

"We're not exactly winning, are we?" Cam asked.

"Not yet," Sam said, not giving up. "I just don't know why they're not hitting us harder."

"I'm sure they'll get around to it eventually," Cam said, leaning back in his oversized chair.

"We've about got the _Washington_ spaceworthy, but we had to pull a lot of equipment from other projects. The shipyard being one of them."

"How is it that we can build ships without a shipyard anyway?"

"Spit and duct tape, mostly."

Cam laughed once. "Whatever works. Who's getting her?"

"Ellis."

"Well, we could certainly use another ship on patrol. We're spread out too much as it is anyway."

"I know," Sam said, leaning back in her chair too. "I know…"

"You hear back from the Asgard?"

"Yes…"

Cam frowned. "No help, huh?"

"Aside from protecting their protected planets, they're too busy to get involved in a major campaign against the Aschen."

"Busy with what?"

"They wouldn't say," Sam mumbled.

"We've run plum out of allies, haven't we?" Cam asked.

Sam laughed in spite of herself. "Certainly feels that way…"

"Well…guess we're going to have to pull up our own britches for once and get to work," Cam said, trying to be funny. "Looks like it's going to be good old human ingenuity that's going to save the planet this time around."

Sam raised her eyebrow. "And it wasn't the first 10 times?"

"No slight against old school SG-1, but I don't recall a time where there wasn't some level of 'help' involved from our allies."

"Come to think of it, you're right," Sam said, thinking back. O'Neill flashed to mind and she quickly regretted the indulgence. "Looks like we're really on our own in this one…times two if you count the present situation on Earth."

"Well, it was Americans that saved the planet in WW1 and WW2…why not go for the trifecta?"

"Like we have a choice?" Sam joked, then shook her head. "We've really got our work cut out for us this time."

Cam frowned. "Am I detecting a hint of quitter talk?"

Sam looked mock surprised. "From me? Never…"

"We'll find a way," Cam said, more serious.

"We don't have the resources," Sam reminded him.

"I know…" he said, then fell silent.


	4. Chapter 4

Jonas Quinn sat in his office at the Langaran ministry of unity…a sham of an organization put together in the wake of the Ori withdrawal back to their own galaxy. With most of the planet's infrastructure in disrepair from the initial Ori invasion, and the subsequent lack of Ori supplies and repair units that had begun reshaping the planet according to their designs…what was left of Kelowna, Terrania, and the Andari Federation resembled a junk yard. A few key buildings had been refurbished by the Ori occupation, but the planet's industrial and agricultural powerbase lay wasted. Many people had starved to death during the first 6 months after the Ori withdrawal…and that number would have been considerably higher if the invasion hadn't reduced the population of the planet by 2/3rds. They had fought hard and futilely against the Ori, and without their advanced, nearly magical technology the planet and its remaining inhabitants had been reduced to a daily struggle for self sufficiency.

With the old grudges overridden by the plight of the entire planet, and most of the most ardent holdouts to planetary unification having died during the invasion, the few remaining leaders left in the wake of the Ori's departure had hastily put together a 'global governmental task force' to begin to return the planet to its previous prosperity. Jonas had been unanimously picked to head the organization…which was underfunded, undermanned, and little more than a publicity stunt to instill some measure of order amongst the populace before barbarism and hopelessness gripped the people and destroyed what shreds of civilization remained.

Despite the ludicrous position he had been given, Jonas took the challenge upon himself to make the sham a reality, and used what pathetic resources he was given to start recovering the lost technology that would be necessary to revive the planet's infrastructure. With strict rationing amongst the population, his lunch plate was actually a banquet by current Langaran standards. Two pieces of bread, some vegetables, and a pittance of meat. Most people in the city, or what remained of Kelowna's former capitol, were existing off of communal pots of stew, with what little food they had being stretched to fill as many mouths as possible.

Jonas picked up a small notebook from the shelf behind his desk. He pulled out a pencil and began to tally the morning's results. Two electrical generators had been recovered from the industrial district…both damaged and currently inoperative. A shipment of 7 bags of Iloria beans had been procured from trade with the planet P4S-237 for skilled labor to help dig out a new water well, and had been split between the communal food stores and Jonas's indoor agricultural project that would, if successful, yield crops year round. He had based it off the hydroponic technology he'd studied back on Earth, and so far it was producing a steady, yet small supply of grains and vegetables. Finding structures to house the equipment…and finding/creating the equipment necessary had been and was continuing to be one of his major headaches, but at least he knew his 9 person staff wouldn't starve to death. He couldn't say the same for the rest of the people in the city.

Some chemical supplies had also been salvaged from the city's northern district. Excavation of the ministry of science was ongoing, and was yielding a few essential supplies…as well as radiological, biological, and chemical hazards. Cleanup wasn't possible at the time, so they had to resort to protected search parties searching through the rubble and the lower levels that had escaped total destruction. One container of Goa'uld artifacts had been reclaimed as well, including a hand-held healing device. He hoped that given enough time Kianna might be able to use the device to assist with what was passing for their local hospital these days. He knew she should possess the latent ability to use Goa'uld technology after being host to a symbiot…but he also knew it took a great deal of skill to utilize the device and at best would take weeks if not months of practice to master…but it was something to put in the positive category today.

The list of negatives was much longer. Failed projects, tainted supplies, casualty lists, and a reneged deal with a trading partner offworld who failed to deliver the correct quantities of Benzite…he'd been lacing the compound with fillers, and when confronted with that fact he'd disappeared without sending the final shipment. That'd set Jonas's Gamma 7 project back by months…and he had no idea where he would find another supplier…

He was about halfway through the morning's tally when an explosion rattled the building he was in, kicking up dust from the ceiling cracks that rained down in little waterfalls.

"What the…" Jonas mumbled, standing up as another large explosion shook his balance. He ran over to the window and looked out at the ruins of the city as one of the few intact buildings off to the west was hit by some type of projectile from the sky. The building disintegrated on impact and the concussion wave rocked Jonas back on his heels.

"Not good," he said to himself as he headed for the stairway. He plodded down the wooden planks until he came to the bottom floor three flights below…

"Kianna?" he yelled.

"I have no idea, Jonas."

"Baker?" Jonas asked.

"Nothing…" his primary aide said, cursing under his breath. "Communications are gone."

"There has to be some…." Jonas began saying, then stopped as muffled screams were heard outside.

"I don't like this…" Kianna said ominously.

Jonas looked around, his eyes darting this way and that…then he snapped into action, grabbing a small satchel in his right hand and Kianna with his left. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Baker demanded.

"To the stargate," he said, already half out the door. Outside the screams were more audible, and were rising in volume…along with a decidedly unwelcome sound of weapons fire.

"Jonas," Kianna said, pulling him to a stop. "What are you…"

"We can't handle…whatever this is," he said, exasperated. "I watched too many good people die fighting the Ori hopelessly…not again. Let's go."

He pulled her by the arm and Baker followed a step behind as they jogged through the streets, unsure of what was going on. They made it through two city blocks before a long thin blue beam cut across the street in front of them and impaled the wall to the right. More screams came from the direction the beam originated from around the corner.

"Back…" Jonas warned as they turned around and backtracked.

Not soon after a floating orb moved around the corner and into view on their street. After a moment's hesitation to reorient itself, it shot out its thin cutting beam directly into the back of Baker's torso and exited through his chest, traveling several meters ahead of the trio before it impacted the ground.

Kianna screamed and Jonas's face went white with horror. Pulling Kianna by the arm they sprinted and rounded the corner onto a side street, temporarily out of the line of fire.

"Jo…nas," Kianna said, scared and out of breath.

"Don't stop," he yelled, pulling on her ever more so as his mind raced. He spotted several familiar buildings, noted which of them had their doors open, mentally reviewing the options that cover afforded…if these things had sensor packages then nowhere might be safe to hide…

"Here!" he said, sliding to a stop as Kianna ran into the back of him, almost knocking both of them down. Jonas pulled her inside an open doorway into the bottom half of what used to be a textile factory. His mind focused on the floor plans and he darted off down a side hallway, around two chicanes, and down a ratty flight of stone stairs, half of which were broken.

Kianna didn't say a word, but was panting heavily and quickly behind him when they ran inside a pitch black room. Jonas closed the door behind them and all light was gone. She heard the clank of a barricade lock falling over the door. "Jonas…"

A small handheld light illuminated his face and torso as he closed the lid on his satchel. "This room has the heaviest shielding in the city…hopefully they can't track us here," he said, poking around the room.

"We're hiding?"

"No…we're running," he said as he pulled open a closet and started throwing out the contents.

"What are you doing?" Kianna asked, still panic stricken.

"The city was built with a number of interconnecting tunnels between random buildings, unknown to the general public, to be used in times of invasion to move troops around beneath and behind enemy lines. And this…" he said, pulling up a concealed handle in the corner of the closet, "is one of them."

The back panel slid up revealing a ladder going down a narrow shaft.

Kianna quickly heeded Jonas's hand signal to move inside. He handed her the light and pulled the closet door closed behind them, then nodded.

She pulled the light down by her feet then gingerly started stepping down the metal ladder rungs. Jonas followed just above her.

After several dozen meters she stepped into a shallow puddle of water and moved clear to let Jonas down. The light didn't travel far, but it was clear that they were in some kind of large tunnel, the width of one of their street cars. The puddle they were standing in rippled with another impact tremor.

"Where now?" Kianna asked, her calm barely returning, but Jonas could tell that she had kept her wits about her.

Jonas pointed off to the right. "This way…"


	5. Chapter 5

Jonas's head popped up out of a hole in the floor of a small, dark room. He looked around silently, with only a small slit of light coming in beneath the exiting door. The floor tile that he'd lifted off the concealed shaft lay to the right, partially covering the opening. Jonas twisted his head around like a periscope and saw that the rest of the room was clear.

His head ducked down and one of his hands came back up and shoved the tile the rest of the way off the shaft, then pulled his torso up and over the edge. He got his knees on the hard tile floor and reached back to help Kianna up.

She grabbed his hand and let herself be pulled up out of the cramped tunnel, killing the handheld light as she came. Jonas put a hand on her shoulder…his way of silently telling her to stay put.

Kianna took a step back while Jonas crossed in front of the narrow band of light coming from the door crack. She heard his slowly pull the door latch around and cringed when the hinges on the door squeaked. Jonas stopped moving entirely, and waited…

No sounds.

Jonas pulled the door open a crack, with another loud squeak and a bright ray of light coming into the room…which they could now see was a kitchen pantry. Kianna, thinking on her feet, grabbed some of the packaged foodstuffs and slipped them into Jonas's satchel that she now carried. Why the room's contents hadn't been gathered already she didn't know, but she wasn't about to pass them over. It'd already been four hours since the attack began, and it's not like their stomachs had been full to begin with.

"Kianna," Jonas's voice said as he pulled the door open all the way, squeaking loudly.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"We're in the wrong place…this is the damaged section of the Ministry of War."

"Well that explains the food at least…" she noted as she walked out into a half collapsed kitchen. Two of the three exits were blocked, with the third having it's doorframe twisted and the swivel door ejected onto the floor nearby. "Did we take a wrong turn?"

"No…"Jonas said, his mind wandering. "The plans we were given must have been inaccurate."

"What now?" Kianna asked, her trust in Jonas evident in her voice.

"The stargate is in this building…but this half is blocked off by damage," he said, walking over the fallen door and looking around outside the kitchen.

More random rays of light punctured the ceiling of the cross hallway that the kitchen opened into…the same mottled illumination that was coming from the kitchen's structure. The upper two levels had to have been pulverized in order to let that much light in…no windows were present in the building, for security reasons, and no electrical power remained in this section of the city.

"Wait a minute," Jonas said, sensing something was odd. He walked down the hallway to the left and stopped just shy of a large pile of debris that had completely blocked off the corridor. On the right was a door, intact, with a much brighter ray of light coming from the typical crack at the bottom of the door.

Jonas tested the handle, and to his surprise it was fully functional. He slowly pulled the door open, pushing aside some floor debris…

Daylight shown down into his face from a huge, sky-visible opening above. Debris was strewn everywhere, and Jonas couldn't walk but a few steps out into what looked for all the world like an impact crater.

"This building must have been hit too," Kianna suggested.

"I think you're right," Jonas commented as he spotted an access hallway on the far side. He pointed. "That's where we have to go."

They began climbing over debris, constantly on the lookout for more of the killer orbs, but for the moment they were in the center of the building, at the bottom of a giant 'bowl' with no access to the outside streets. Jonas had a feeling, however, that this crater had been one or more of the orbs landing sites, and was pretty sure they could just float up and over the rim of the crater at any time…which meant they had to hurry.

Eight minutes later they made it to the other side, with a dozen new scrapes as souvenirs. Jonas wedged himself through a partially collapsed doorway into a more intact corridor. He helped Kianna through then they both walked out into the intact portion of the Ministry of War. They moved slowly, being as silent as they could…but part of the caution was also fatigue. They were both exhausted, with adrenaline the only thing keeping them going.

Jonas held up a hand, signaling for them to stop and be silent. A few seconds later Kianna heard a faint hum and a tiny floating ball emerged from a side hallway and spotted them. All of a sudden she felt herself being dragged forward by Jonas's iron grip and she willed her feet to follow. They ran through the corridors, dodging the odd piece of debris, until they came to the main foyer where the stargate had been relocated after the Ori invasion to keep it secure from the panicked public in the wake of their withdrawal.

They ran into the foyer and found the stargate sitting quietly, beautifully silent in the center of the room. A large set of open doors in front of the gate lead to the city streets, but for the moment there were no signs of activity nearby.

Jonas ran to the DHD and dialed the first friendly address that came to mind…a small desert planet with a trading outpost that they did business with on a regular basis. His hands whirled around the ancient device, touching the large key plates in the correct order, then he smashed his palm down on the activation sphere.

The stargate sprang to life, the event horizon formed behind the disruptive vortex that filled nearly half the room and glowed with a quiet blue hue and the promise of freedom.

"Go!" Jonas yelled. Kianna was closer and had hesitated, waiting for Jonas. She nodded and turned, running up the small steps and disappeared into the glowing puddle with Jonas a few seconds behind her. He was nearly there when a large whoosh sounded and he found himself frozen in place, mere inches from the fluctuating event horizon. He was held there, unable to move, until the stargate deactivated before him and his heart sank, knowing he was about to die. At least Kianna had made it out…

The bonds holding him released and he nearly fell to the ground. He turned around to see the shape of a large killer orb at the street entrance, filling the entryway. Why it wasn't firing at him finally registered to Jonas and his despair lifted slightly.

A hologram of a human formed crudely at the base of the orb then resolved into picture perfect clarity.

"Jonas Quinn, I believe," the man's image said in a patronizingly dispassionate tone.

Jonas took an uneasy step forward. "Yes…"

"Please step onto the transport pad," the Aschen said evenly as the under-section of the orb transformed and a small extension reached down and forward, unfurling into a flat platform inches above the floor. "You and I have a great deal to discuss…"

* * *

The recently elected President Kerry walked up the aisle on the floor of Congress, accepting handshakes, good will, and other meaningless platitudes typical of the annual State of the Union address. He passed through the lines of onlookers and eventually made his way to the podium, with the new Vice President and returning Speaker of the House standing above and behind him on a slightly raised bench. Kerry cleared his throat calmly…he needed to keep his demeanor positive and in control.

"My fellow Americans," he began. "Once every year, the President is ordered by a stipulation within the Constitution to give a status report to Congress on the condition of our nation and our nation's affairs. Adhering to this protocol, I stand before you now to tell you that the state of the union…is in jeopardy."

A few hushed words were all that answered his statement. This was not the typical, "everything is good and well" speech. Quizzical looks crossed between several onlookers who had no clue what this was about. Kerry wasn't using the prepared and leaked speech that the press was expecting.

"Though it is unknown to the public and most of our government, the lives of every single American are currently at stake in a conflict beyond your knowledge. Indeed, perhaps beyond your belief as well. The United States is currently at war with a people called the Aschen…a people that are not of this planet."

More hubbub sounded, but it was still suppressed. Most wondered what sort of metaphor this was…no one in the chamber took the President at his word, save for those already in on the secret.

"A number of years ago, an alien transportation device was discovered on Earth, and granted us access to other planets without having to rely on conventional space travel. One would literally walk through a large ring-like device, called a stargate, and be transported in a matter of seconds to any of a thousand worlds across this galaxy. We used the stargate to explore and chart these new worlds…and to make contact with the descendants of our ancestors, transported off of Earth as slaves by an alien race known as the Goa'uld. Yes, I did indeed say alien race. We've met many, befriended some, and made enemies of others. The Aschen are Human, but they are decidedly committed to our destruction. In 2012 they attacked Earth with a bioweapon, the results of which were seen on several continents. They attempted to follow up this cowardly attack with an invasion, which we and our generous allies managed to thwart. Since that day, they have not attacked Earth again…but are currently engaged in a massive campaign across the galaxy, seizing hundreds of worlds, some of which were formerly in our possession."

Several laughs from the gallery stopped Kerry and he held up a patient hand. "Forgive me, I know this is a lot to take in, but we have no time. We are losing the war, and if we do not commit our full resources soon, Earth may come under attack yet again. The full story of the history of the Stargate Program and our interactions with the Aschen, Jaffa, Asgard and other peoples among the stars are being released at the conclusion of this speech, but to discuss the current threat in more detail I give you General Carter, Supreme Commander of our spaceborn forces and one of, if not the most, experienced people on this planet with offworld affairs.

Kerry stepped to the side and a white light shown behind the podium as Sam beamed down onto the Congressional chamber.

This time the assembled onlookers either went half crazy or were stunned into complete silence. Sam stood there and let them go through their antics while the ones in the know tried to calm everyone down. After a few moments she had the floor.

"My name is Samantha Carter, Commanding General of all American assets currently offworld. Those assets are few, considering the great lengths we have gone to keep you unaware of the current state of affairs. Many will argue the wisdom in that decision, but at this point it no longer matters. This planet has escaped ruin on multiple occasions, the most recent of which the President just mentioned. We, the United States, along with many other nations are currently fighting a war against a technologically advanced enemy known as the Aschen. They utilize a mechanized fleet and ground forces in battle, preferring not to fight themselves. Physically they are timid, peaceful, harmless…but as a civilization they are ruthless and intend to bend the galaxy to their will. Those they cannot conquer through peaceable means, they overrun by force. To date, 1,374 Americans have been killed in offworld combat by the Aschen. We believe the total number of deaths to be upward of 7,000 for all Earth personnel. Not a single Aschen has died…only their machines, which are considerably more advanced than the forces we have here on Earth. We do have technology capable of standing up against the Aschen, most of which we've acquired from offworld allies, some of which is even more powerful than the enemy wields…but given that we had to hide all knowledge of it from the public, we haven't been able to field a large defensive force."

"We currently possess 4 warships, one of which is barely operational, so new that the paint literally hasn't dried in all the corridors. The enemy has been seen to field an equivalent force of 12,000 warships in total, spread out in a massive campaign to seize worlds. We cannot safeguard Earth with so few ships…and we only survived the last attack because of the intervention of some very powerful allies…allies that are keeping the bulk of the Aschen fleet busy, else we would have already been overrun. These allies are known as the Jaffa, a proud warrior race of altered Humans. We cannot rely on them to protect us again…even now they are losing worlds to the enemy by the dozens. At present, the United States possesses 56 worlds…most of which have a population of 10 or so personnel. They are primitive and undeveloped, for the most part…we've already lost 13 to the Aschen, and the numbers are even larger for our counterparts. Russia, China, France, and the other nations with planetary possessions are also being hit hard, though to what extend we can't be sure, given that there is no unity amongst us…save for a desire to protect Earth. But I can assure you that the losses are significant, even though we face only a small portion of the Aschen forces."

"I stand here tonight, to call upon any and all volunteers to join our ranks and fight back against this enemy out there," Sam said, pointing up at the ceiling, "before they come here, on our doorstep," she finished, pointing at the floor. "We need personnel, we need supplies, we need everything including the kitchen sink for us to throw at the enemy. I'm not only calling upon individual citizens, but corporations, businesses, and organizations to voluntarily offer up any and all support. There will NOT be any conscription, or raised taxes, or any other shady measures to drum up resources. We are asking for your help to defend the planet. The government is currently shifting all available assets towards our offworld bases, over which I am in command…but it won't be enough. We need all available help we can muster…and that includes the other nations and people of Earth. I am asking you as a Tau'ri…that's what we're called by offworlders….I'm asking you to join with us, support us, in this fight. If we lose this war, we lose the planet. And that last time the Aschen attacked, they did so with a bioweapon capable of wiping out every living being on Earth. They mean to annihilate us, not conquer us. If we lose, it's all over…our history, our future, our ambitions, family, and friends. We have to win this war…and to do that we need to band together and fight tooth and nail with every asset we possess."

"The _Washington_ is currently in orbit, picking up a load of supplies. It is due to finish within minutes, then I must return to the front. As of now, we are opening up all recruiting stations to what is being called the Earth Defense Forces, or EDF for short. Sorry about the name, we'll come up with something better later. Right now we need to get as many people into training as quickly as we can. You can sign up today if you choose, but the recruitment centers also have a full library of data on the galaxy as we know it. Study up, learn what we face, and the friends we've made, before you make your decision. I hope to see many of you out there. Training will commence offworld on a planet code-named Reach. And yes, we're sticking with that name," she joked, trying to instill some sense of control amidst the doomsday speech.

Her wristbound communicator beeped…the signal that the _Washington_ was ready to leave. Her part in the State of the Union address had been adlibbed some 15 minutes ago.

"I have to go now. The fighting continues as I speak. One last thing though…I do believe this war is winnable. Not quite sure how we're going to accomplish that, but we've faced and overcome worse before…just nothing quite on this scale. It's going to be a challenge, one that we may very well lose…I won't kid you about that. But we are not out of our league here. We have a legitimate chance to survive…and if we can survive long enough, future projects will come online that will enable us to take the fight back to the enemy. Time is crucial…else we would have broken the news in a less abrupt fashion," she turned to face Kerry. "Sir," she said, then tapped the transport disc that she was holding in her left palm. A moment later she vanished in the same awe-inspiring white blur.

Kerry retook the podium. "That woman…is a hero to this country. One that you'll learn quite a great deal about in coming days. I have complete faith in her abilities to fight and win this war…but as she said, there are no guarantees. Now…I know it's not customary for this proceeding, but then again, nothing today is going to follow custom, so…let me have your questions."

The floor erupted into chaos, but eventually it was thinned down into a line of press reporters and for the next 4 hours the President answered their questions, after which point they had to call an end to the address to deal with other matters.

The other nations of Earth were none too happy with the unilateral reveal of their mutually held secret, and they intended for there to be political hell to pay…but as Kerry and Carter had agreed earlier, what could they do to the United States that would be worse than the Aschen?


End file.
